


Song of the West

by ophelly



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Forbidden Love, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Kinda, Not really historically accurate but i'll try, Prostitution, Romance, Slow Burn, War, Work In Progress, only in like the first few chapters tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 05:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11006607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ophelly/pseuds/ophelly
Summary: AU. Outcasted and abused by her fellow villagers, seventeen-year-old Rin finds refuge with the legendary Inu no Taisho and his handsome but hateful son Sesshomaru.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This chapter does mention a sexual act, but nothing truly explicit/worthy of an M rating. It's going to be the last scene of that nature for the majority of this story, anyway. In later chapters, this story will contain dark themes such as gore and abuse; until then, I'm going to keep this story at a T rating.
> 
> As this is an AU, all characters in the fic will be human: no yokai, no hanyou, etc. I'd say that this is more of a faux historical fic if anything.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Inuyasha franchise! This story is purely for fun!

**SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

* * *

i.

Rin absolutely adored the summer festival. She loved the tumult of the village during that time, the way that everybody—the old and young, merchant and farmer—seemed to work together to make sure that the festival was the charming, prosperous event that it had been for centuries. Seeing people from far and wide flock to the city to set up their wares brought back fond memories: Rin and her elder cousin walking hand in hand with grand hopes and dreams after a season of sorrow. Nothing but indigent, orphaned gamines, they had no money to afford food, much less expensive fabrics and jewels. They simply enjoyed walking through and pretending that they were the wealthy daughters of some great lord.

Even though Rin had been forced to watch the festival from afar in recent years, she still loved its sights and sounds.

"Hurry up," an impatient voice said, disrupting her reverie. At the mouth of the alleyway, a dark-haired boy stood with his back to her, watching for any potential intruders. "My father will be looking for me soon."

Rin merely whined as his friend gave his last few thrusts, the music from the festival across the river from her village serving as her only comfort. The ground was hot and hard and the boy smelled of something that was making her nauseous. A wave of relief washed over her when she felt him pull away, his foul breath a ghost on her ear. Quickly, he pushed her away and groaned as he stood up.

"Congratulations," The dark-haired boy mocked. "You've finally lost your virginity—to a hired girl, but still sex nonetheless. How do you feel?"

Rin put one hand on the wall next to her to help pull herself off the ground. After fixing her own worn yukata, she slowly turned to face him, her doe-eyes inspecting him in wait.

"Be quiet," He spoke sternly as he fixed his clothes. By the looks of it, he wanted to avoid meeting Rin's eyes at all costs. When his friend had brought her to him, he had been less bashful. She had easily recognized him as the youngest son of one of the many farmers in her village, a boy only a few years older than her who had been left behind while his father and elder brothers had gone to the festival to sell their winter harvest. She had caught him staring at her with a frightful intensity for the past few days. As much as she didn't want him or anyone else to come, she desperately needed the money for food. Though she knew that this time of excitement was the best time to simply steal what she needed, she had been caught so many times in the past that many of the locals were now keen to her tricks. It was precisely why the boy's father had left him behind. Rin had been caught and punished too many times already; she did not want to end up with any missing fingers.

The dark-haired boy laughed. The farmer's boy, finally finished with his yukata, looked up at Rin with anxious eyes. "Give her the money," he spoke to his friend.

There was something sinister in the dark-haired boy's eyes as he walked over with the small burlap sack. "For your hard work," he said, holding out the money for her to take.

As Rin reached forward, the dark-haired boy snatched it back. Laughing, he emptied some of the coins onto the dusty earth. Rin could hear the other half clinking together in the bag.

"I'll return with the rest later." He leered before walking away. With a nod, the farmer's boy followed after him with no words to spare.

Rin waited for a few seconds after they were gone to crouch down and inspect her wages. By now, she was all too familiar with these quick exits. It would be dishonorable to be seen with her. The coins should be enough to buy herself a small meal for the day. In one swift movement, she gathered up the coins and stood.

The afternoon sun bathed her face in warm gold as she emerged from the alleyway and onto the main road of her village. If any of the other townspeople say her, they paid her no mind. Rin liked it this way. Many people were too busy watching the festival-goers and merchants pass through with their elaborate wagons and prized horses to throw any dirty looks at a village wench.

To get to the city where the festival was to be held, one had to travel by the road that divided the little village into two neat halves. This allowed the villagers to see all sorts of strange sites and people from all different areas of the country.

Though Rin had a strong desire to stop and observe the passing cavalcade, her stomach demanded most of her attention. She nimbly began to make her way through the throng and over to a small food vendor nearby. The owners of the shop had sharp tongues and charged her more than they should for such a small amount of food, but they were the only people in the village who would accept her pelf. The shop was typically busy around that time of day, but the excitement of the festival had drawn all of its usual customers elsewhere, which meant that Rin would be able to purchase her meal with relative ease. The shopkeeper did not allow her to come near when one of the villagers were around for fear that they themselves would be shunned by the community.

As Rin drew nearer, she saw that the shopkeeper's daughter, a stout pregnant woman with a plain face, was speaking to another young woman. She wore finer clothes than what was usually seen in the village; Rin wondered if she was the wife of a merchant.

The two women noticed her at the same time and fell silent. The eyes of the merchant's wife fell on her with awkward scrutiny, as if appraising her. Rin felt her face heat up. She probably smelt of intercourse and whatever strange aroma the farmer's boy had bore. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper's daughter's anxious gaze flitted back and forth between the village wench and the merchant's wife.

"Take your business elsewhere, whore." She spat. "We have no need for the likes of you."

Rin's stomach growled angrily in response. She pursed her lips. "I have the money—-"

The shopkeepers' daughter grew flustered. "How dare you talk back to me! You saw that we were in the middle of a discussion, unless you're blind too. Be gone!"

If she stayed to argue with the woman, there was a chance that she would never be able to get food in this village again. As she turned away, the pregnant woman began to speak to the merchant's wife again.

"She's just some cheap whore. A thief, too! She and some other girl arrived here years ago. I guess her folks died of the plague…"

"And she's been leeching off of this village ever since?" The merchant's wife finished for her.

The shopkeepers' daughter hummed her approval. "She's probably fucked half the boys in the village by now. I wouldn't be surprised if she singlehandedly started another plague. She's cursed after all."

The villagers always spoke ill of Rin, so the woman's words came as no surprise. Even still, she could feel both shame and pique growing inside her. She could feel the leers of the two women as she walked away.

Suddenly, the merchant's wife gasped. "It's the Inu no Taisho and his son!"

The two women fell silent. At the same time, it seemed as if a tense, fearful fog had descended upon the villagers, sending them into a state of quiet terror.

A handsome man, or the 'Dog General' as the merchant's wife had breathed in a terrified whisper, sat bestride a large horse riding at a relaxed pace. Though his frightful golden eyes gazed forward at the road before him, his mouth moved as if he were talking to someone beside him. Even from her position far behind the crowd, Rin could not miss the sword at his hip or the larger blade attached to his back, albeit hidden behind his long, silver hair.

"I heard that their clan was directly related to Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto," The shopkeeper said.

"I've heard that said about his son and the Lady." The merchant said. "As for the Inu no Taisho, I was told that his ancestors were trained by Susanoo-no-Mikoto himself."

The person beside the Inu no Taisho looked even more like someone from a dream, one of the imagined princes from her youth. His hair and eyes bore the same hues as those of the Inu no Taisho's, thus it was easy to note that the two were obviously related. Though the Inu no Taisho seemed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, the man who rode beside him was noticeably younger, perhaps in his early 20s. For a moment, he seemed to only be concerned with the silent words of the Inu no Taisho, paying the crowd no attention at all. Then, for some inexplicable reason, he turned and met Rin's gaze for a fraction of a second…

_before turning up his nose in absolute disgust._

Rin's face burned a bright hot red. Somehow aware of his son's sudden indignation, the Inu no Taisho turned to face Rin with a raised brow. Before he could get a better look at her, Rin had already disappeared into a small alleyway. The shopkeeper, also noticing Rin's sudden flight, began to snicker. "It seems that her charms do not work on every man."

* * *

Rin's day went as it usually did: much discomfort with very little in return. On top of that, she was still hungry. Today had been one of the better days, though. Despite the shopkeepers' daughter's rejection, shad had managed to earn money for food. Other days had not been so kind. Every day she went without facing too much wrath was a benison. Verbal abuse was something she could handle; she didn't know how much more physical abuse her already starved, petite frame could take.

Exhausted and somewhat sore, she slowly began to trek through the village's various alleys and back towards her makeshift home: a neglected hut on the outskirts of the village where she had rested her head every night for the past few years. Save for a blanket, an old tatami mat, and a small box at the foot of it, Rin's hut was pitifully empty. She had long since sold whatever personal belongings she and her cousin had left for food. All Rin had left to remember her family by was the small wooden comb that her cousin had left behind.

With pain in her eyes, Rin clutched the comb to her chest. The comb had belonged to her great-great-grandmother, who had passed it down to her descendants until it ended up in the hands of Rin's aunt and later her cousin. Though it brought back some good memories, it brought back many terrible ones.

Rin's parents and brothers were the first to die when the plague hit their tiny village by the sea. Many said it had started with the fish, and others something in the water; whatever it had been, it moved stealthily, hitting the whole countryside almost overnight. The symptoms were something of nightmares: feverish, the victim with prone to thrashing fits and cold sweats. It only took a matter of days for them to perish, foaming at the mouth.

After her family's death, Rin recalled how she was taken in by her father's sister and her two children. Weeks later, her aunt and cousin too succumbed to the mysterious illness, leaving the two girls to fend for themselves. With half of the village dead and rest on the verge of death, they thought it would be best to simply move on. It had only taken a few weeks for the girls, who were already poor, to trade all they owned for food, shelter, and transportation. This was how they had ended up in the little town that Rin was trapped in.

Today would mark the seventh year that her cousin had been missing, seven long years since she had told a young Rin that she was going out to buy food only to never return. The little nine-year-old had gone looking for her when it became apparent that something was wrong. Every person she asked said they had not seen her cousin. Some people were telling the truth, while others simply did not want to be bothered with a dirty orphan.

Rin gently placed the comb back into its box at next to the tatami mat before lying down on her side. She released a small shudder before willing herself to sleep.

* * *

When the sun finally started to disappear behind the hills and she could no longer bear her aching stomach, Rin decided to take another chance with the shopkeeper's daughter. The storefront was well-nigh barren at the time of day due to the festival; the only people there were the shopkeeper's wife and daughter, both cleaning dishes.

With one hand on her swollen stomach, the shopkeeper's daughter clicked her teeth as Rin approached the counter. "Well, look who's back. I had to send her away when she interrupted my conversation with a merchant's wife," she told her mother. "Now she's back to waste more of our time."

Her mother kept her eyes on Rin. "Do you have the money, girl?"

Rin nodded and laid the coins on the counter. She could only watch as the older woman scrutinized her coin. The shopkeeper's wife then let out a sudden laugh that startled her. "This is nowhere near enough!"

Rin's brows furrowed. She might not have had the best education, but she wasn't stupid. "This is the same amount I gave you a few days ago…"

The older woman crossed her arms. "We've raised our price."

"Do you take us for fools, girl?" The shopkeeper's daughter growled. "You steal one of our bowls and now you're arguing with us about the price?"

Rin's stomach growled right back at her. The young girl was growing desperate—if she didn't eat soon, she would certainly pass out. Her gaze snapped towards the shopkeeper's daughter. "I never stole your bowls," she raised her voice, pushing the coins towards them. " _Please._ I just need a little bit of—-"

The shopkeeper's daughter grabbed Rin's wrist and yanked it towards her, causing the young girl to stop and wince. "You're the only one who would do something like this!" She hissed. "Do you realize we could have these pretty little hands cut off right here for your thievery? And then have you flogged on top of that!"

"Now now, that seems to be too barbaric a punishment for being short of coin, doesn't it?" A voice said from behind her.

Rin saw the shopkeeper's wife's face turn completely white. She yanked her daughter away from Rin before bowing deeply. "Good afternoon, Inu no Taisho-sama!"

The living legend himself had managed to sneak up on the trio in the midst of the mayhem. The Inu no Taisho was dressed in full armor as if had stopped by on his way to battle. He was just as tall and handsome as he appeared from far away, his long silver hair blowing gently in the afternoon breeze. He stood with his hands behind his back.

"We're terribly sorry we weren't able to prepare anything for you," The shopkeeper's daughter said. "We're dealing with a bit of a… _problem_ right now."

The Inu no Taisho turned his sharp golden eyes towards the accused. Despite his fearsome appearance, Rin noticed that there was a bit of warmth in his eyes. She bowed her head in reverence.

"She stole one of our bowls and is lying to our face." The shopkeeper's daughter glared at Rin as she explained the situation.

The Inu no Taisho hummed. "Did you take one of their bowls, girl?"

Rin shook her head. "I have no idea what they're talking about."

"Don't listen to her. She's a known liar." The older woman said sharply.

"We have proof too! We count the bowls each night. She came around earlier trying to get free food and I sent her away. She left only after making a scene." The daughter spoke.

"And you both are absolutely certain that she is the only one in this village that could have taken is her?" The handsome man spoke slowly, testing them.

The older woman hesitated. "…well, yes. She's been stealing and whoring for food since she first laid foot in the village years ago. She's probably stolen from everyone in the village by now."

Too tired and frightened to argue, Rin kept her eyes on the ground. She could feel a hard lump of despair rising within her throat.

The Inu no Taisho paused for a moment, his gaze flickering back and forth between Rin and the two women. Finally, with brows furrowed, he brought his hands from behind his back to reveal two halves of a broken bowl. "Could this be it?" he asked, placing it on the countertop.

Eyes wide, the shopkeeper's daughter began to stutter. "H-how did you —"

"I saw some children playing with it on the way here." He said, looking at a surprised Rin. His golden eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement.

"It seems as if we were wrong," The shopkeeper's wife bowed again. "We're sorry for wasting your time, my Lord." She then turned to face her daughter, who by now was hanging her head in shame. "Prepare some food for him girl! Hurry!" The shopkeeper's daughter nodded and quickly began to prepare him a plate.

The Inu no Taisho let out a relaxed breath. "If anyone deserves a meal, it's the so-called 'thief'. She looks as if she's about to faint." He placed a large silver coin on the countertop next to the broken bowl. He gave the older woman a sly grin, "Will this be enough?"

The eyes of the shopkeeper's wife nearly fell from their sockets when she saw the large coin. "This is more than enough!" With a wolfish grin on her face, the shopkeeper's daughter slid Rin a plate of meat, rice, and vegetables. It was certainly a step up from her usual meal of pottage. The sight of it nearly brought her to tears.

The Inu no Taisho gave her a warm smile before turning to leave. "Enjoy the festival."

Then, he was gone.


	2. The Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god it’s already been almost a month since I last updated this story! I’m so sorry it took me such a long time to write this chapter! I had to take both the SAT (June 3) and the ACT (June 10) so I had to take some time to study for that. I had planned have this chapter out the day after ACTs, but unfortunately, my dog of ten years had passed away. I spent the week after that mourning and hanging out with friends. 
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don’t own the Inuyasha franchise. The story is purely for practice and fun!

**SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

* * *

ii.

After her meal was finished and the momentary kindness of the shopkeeper’s wife and daughter had lapsed (they kept silent as she returned the plate, their lips pressed into thin lines, and she could feel their odious gazes pressing like arrows into her back as she left), Rin set out, stomach well-nigh tumid and aching from her miniature feast, towards the festival to find the Inu no Taisho.

She wanted to thank him.

She knew it was only mere naivety that made her believe it would be as simple to encounter him a second time as it was the first, but even if things did not go as planned, she wanted to say that she at least attempted to show some sliver of civility to the only individual to treat her with kindness in years.

Still cool and moisture-laden from the rain that fell a week before, Rin could hear nothing in the woodland but the chirping of crickets and her own bare feet slopping through the mire and she followed the trail to the bridge. Firelight danced in their ornate wooden enclosures perched within the trees, throwing shadows all about the landscape. The merchants across the river often placed lanterns along the trail during festivals to aid any nighttime travelers, but she would know the way even without them. She had scoured the forest many times for berries as a child, with only the starlight to guide her. Ruts from wagon wheels were still visible ahead, but there were no others on the path at the moment, nor did she have anything to offer in exchange for a ride if they came. Ghosts of animal tracks occasionally crossed between the wagon ruts, but the two-day steady flow of traffic had long since dispelled any threat from the fauna. Rin was truly the only soul in the forest.

Yet, she still could not stop the feeling of dread from crawling up her spine. There was an unusual eeriness that blanketed the forest like a thick smog as if the trees themselves were observing her every move. Turning back now would mean spending more time with the trees than if she were to continue, for she could finally see where the forest ended and the trees began. With a sigh of relief, Rin stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight. She took the time to rid her feet of the mud in the river before stepping onto the wooden planks, careful to avoid any splinters. In her current state of penury, an infection was the last thing she needed.

To her delight, the festival had not lost its charm, even after so many years. A temporary settlement of travelers had burgeoned on the outskirts of the city, littering the riverbank with tents and _tatami_. The abundance of ostentatious decorative lanterns joined together to create a golden aureole over the area that could be seen for miles. The sounds of the _koto_ , along with a choir of one thousand voices, each with its own regionalism, wafted throughout the light’s amplitude. She observed everything with childlike wonder: merchants sold their goods as quickly as moneyed men demanded them; women fawned over flowers and fabric and fragrances; children ran through the streets playing with strange knickknacks; servants rushed to and fro serving viands and packing items in carts.

It was then, as she not-so-gently began to shove her way through the horde of people, that she realized finding the Inu no Taisho would _definitely_ be impossible. The city was much too large for her to take on alone. At this very moment, he could be submerged within the crowd, resting in one of the dozens of inns, or dining at one of the many eateries scattered throughout.

Ever the idealist, Rin continued on through the loudness. Wading to the side of the main road, she ducked into the less crowded alleyways, where stragglers reveled and committed dishonorable acts in plain sight. As quiet as a spirit, she slipped past drunken men and women like her but with more beauty. From their clothing, she could tell that they were simple village people, with no more wealth than she had, who had come to the festival to momentarily escape a lifetime of tilling the land or mending clothes. The end of the passage led her to two small children, waifs like her, resting on the ground. The oldest of the girls sat with a box in her hand, watching closely as her young relative played nearby. Images of her and her cousin all those years ago appeared in her mind as she dropped the bag of coins that the shopkeeper would not accept into the girl’s box. Startled, the girl looked up at her with bright blue eyes. Rin gave her a gentle smile and continued her journey.

Time passed. As the alleyways became narrower and the crowds scarcer, Rin found herself near the edge of the large city. A woman yelled orders to servants at a nearby inn, and Rin cringed as she walked past.

“Move along!” she practically shrieked into the cool summer night’s air. Scullions were rushing different ingredients into the kitchen, all while dodging physical abuse from the plank-wielding, howling woman. “The master will have our heads if we do not get this food to the Inu no Taisho on time!”

In that fragment of a second, the women’s shrill voice became kind to Rin’s ears, transforming itself into a siren’s song that would lead her straight to the God-made-man himself.

The woman’s fearsome gaze turned towards Rin as if she could sense her glee. Brandishing the wooden plank, she slowly began to move forward. The volume of her voice was enough to to make Rin recoil. “Begone, beggar!” she boomed. “There are no leavings here for you. Go!”

Rin flitted from the alleyway and onto the main road before the inn. There weren’t many people out and about in this area and those who were were mostly servants. From the corner of her eye, Rin could see a group of well-dressed people unpacking ornamented chests from an equally ornamented wagon. She could hear the distant clink of the objects inside of one of them. Elsewhere, a woman with layers upon layers of fine, beautifully dyed clothing and a voluminous hairstyle full of fripperies entered a nearby building, flanked by two women and armed guards. Other people of similar dress strolled to and fro between buildings, chatting in the streets. When a group of similarly dressed girls her age began to gawk and point at her, it became painfully obvious that she was in a chiefly aristocratic area of the city.

Rin knew that the building would be toilsome to sneak into by its look alone. Its grandiosity certainly made it a hotspot for wealthy visitors: the inn was a massive six-story structure, half on the flat land and half on the hill, raised with stone and constructed with the cleanest wood Rin had ever scene. It possessed a typical sloped roof with golden _shibi_ on each level and a _hanagawara_ on its apex that glowed in the light. A stone stairway led to the large red wooden doors with golden handles that served as its entrance, and each window was lit by a candle. The whole thing was more like what Rin imagined a castle to be than an inn. 

Peeking into the now empty alleyway, Rin began to look for a way to slip inside. The small gate to the kitchens had been left open. Rin could hear the chatter of the servants; however, the shrieking woman was not among them, so she took this opportunity to peek inside. The servants were cooking and cleaning, the sliding of the _shoji_ a constant sound. Quietly, she stepped further into the kitchen.

“Hey!” someone yelled to the side of her. Rin turned to see a young woman with light brown hair and sharp eyes staring at her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? We need as many working hands as possible tonight!”

She must have thought she was speaking to a fellow servant. Rin nearly sighed in relief.

The young woman stared at Rin peculiarly before grabbing two trays of food and shoving it into the vagrant’s hands. “Take these to the rooms on the fifth level. One goes to the very first room on the left, and the other to the very end of the hallway.”

Surprised at her sudden stroke of good fortune, Rin nodded and bowed without a word and went to deliver the food. All she had to do now was _find_ the fifth level and avoid the violent mistress from before.

The hallway that separated the kitchens from the main building was lengthy and lined with _shoji_. Just enough faint light spilled through the diaphanous paper for the servants walking back and forth to see. The very last _shoji_ had already been slid open and directed Rin to a small set of steps that, in turn, led to another lovely but seemingly endless hallway. Anxiously, Rin took a deep breath and continued towards a pair of voices at the end of the hall. Two serving girls were carrying empty trays back towards the kitchen.

“Have you had a chance to see the young Lord?” One girl asked.

Her friend swooned. “I have! His looks put the moon and stars to shame. He looked so calm when he left.” 

The servants did not even notice her as they passed. Hearing of the young Lord’s absence somewhat eased her mind. 

After many minutes of endless halls and stairs, she eventually made it to the fifth floor. All was quiet, save for the occasional girlish giggles coming from the very end of the hall. 

_The Inu no Taisho’s suite._

The young teen was so antsy that she bypassed the first room altogether and swiftly walked down the hall. Rin could see shadows moving behind the near-translucent _shoji._

She rapped the screen door softly. The laughter inside dwindled apace, and she could hear the shuffling of clothes and the soft thud of a cup hitting a table before a convivial male voice boomed: “Enter!”

Startled at the sudden loud voice, Rin made haste to slide open the _shoji_. In the middle of the large room bedecked with all sorts of furniture, pottery, and art, the Inu no Taisho sat at a long table with two glamorous women at either side of him. Even without his mountain of armor, he was an overawing figure: when sitting, he was still a visibly towering man who emitted vigor and charm. He rested comfortably in his blue and white kimono, his red _hanjuban_ peeking out around his neck. A blue riband faithfully kept his long white hair from obscuring his mature, handsome face.

The two accompanying him donned raiment similar to the peeresses Rin had seen strolling outside the hotel. Their perfectly painted faces told her that they viewed her with contempt, both for her destitute appearance and for interrupting their chat with the Dog General.

The Lord in question, however, seemed surprised and pleased at her unannounced visit.

“Why,” he said cheerfully, thick brows raised with mirth. “Good evening.”

The intensifying glares of the two women made her timid. “I have your food.” She spoke softly.

The Inu no Taisho grinned at her mousiness before turning to his companions. They knew what he would ask and stood. A quick deferent bow was given before they shuffled past Rin. With them absent, the young girl could breathe a bit easier.

The Western Lord gestured for her to bring the food forwards. Rin mustered the little grace she possessed and walked towards the table.

“Forgive me for interrupting.” Rin said as she placed the tray on the table.

The Inu no Taisho’s response was a simple shrug. “No need. I was growing quite bored of them.” His eyes concentrated on something across the table _._ It was only then that Rin noticed an extra _zabuton,_ cup, and plate. “It seems my son is still too busy brooding to join me for a proper meal.” He nodded to the _zabuton._ “Sit. You look famished.”

She awkwardly did as she was told. The Inu no Taisho uncovered the trays to reveal beautifully arranged rows of meat, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Rin’s eyes grew wide as he began to shovel a large amount of food onto her plate. She was not used to such extravagance; she was still recovering from the food he purchased for her earlier that day.

“Inu no Taisho-sama—“

_Lord Dog General._ He briefly chortled at the strange title. “ _Touga_ is my true name.”

Rin reddened at her mistake. “Touga-sama.” She kept her eyes focused on the blue stripes on his sleeve; his gaze was too intense to stare at directly. “I don’t mean to waste your night. I just came to thank you.”

“You mean to say that you walked from your village and through the entire city just to express your gratitude?” Lord Touga asked. He had moved away from serving food and was now pouring tea into her cup _._ The adolescent could not recall the last time she had tea —— every winter since her family’s death and cousin’s disappearance had been spent with boiled water. It had a naturally sweet scent that pleased her.

“If that is so,” Lord Touga continued, pouring tea into his own cup _._ “Then you are much nobler and more dedicated than most of the Lords in this land.” He set the _tetsubin_ back onto the table. “The owner of this establishment familiarized my son and me with all who would be serving us. If I recall correctly, I did not see your face. This hotel supposedly has the best security in the region. How did you get in?”

Rin shuffled uncomfortably on her _zabuton._ She had not even noticed any guards on the way in. “I guess I was lucky.”

“Lucky indeed.” He gave her a pearly white grin. “You’ve made it here, so you might as well rest and eat. What is your name?”

“Rin.”

From there, they spoke and continued to eat —— Lord Touga somehow eating everything on his plate while Rin poked at all she could muster for his sake. They discussed the festival, mostly: what was being sold, what activities were there, the size of the crowd. Rin told him all she could remember.

When she could finally hear crickets chirping and the _tetsubin_ was empty, the little urchin decided it was time to return to reality.

“I should leave,” Rin spoke. “before it gets too dark.”

Lord Touga stood, offering her a strong hand as well. “I’ll escort you.”

As they started to stroll down the beautiful well-lit hallway, Rin mused on this small adventure. When she woke up that morning, she had not imagined that she would be talking to a legendary general at the end of the day.

A silly question began to nestle in her brain. “Touga-sama?”

He hummed.

“Why do they call you the Inu no Taisho?”

“Many reasons.” He took a deep breath and shrugged. “It is an old name. I suppose ——“

A loud creak came from the Inu no Taisho’s suite, interrupting him and startling Rin. Lord Touga’s eyes narrowed.

“Touga-sama.” Rin spoke hesitantly.

With a brutish urgency, Lord Touga grabbed Rin’s waist and flung them both down the hallway. A forceful roar ripped through the hall, making the grand hotel quiver under its strength. The scent of smog burned her nose and throat.

Touga muttered a plethora of expletives before standing. “Are you hurt?” he asked roughly, his fiery gaze searching her frail form for any injuries.

Rin, despite the fact that she could feel a migraine developing, shook her head. The other end of the hallway had been bedimmed by a pall of smoke and char. When the Inu no Taisho turned to look into the darkness, she saw a large piece of shrapnel protruding from his upper arm. 

Rin blinked. “You’re hurt.” She watched as the blood slowly oozed from his wound.

He continued to stare into the dark mass, which was now slowly dissipating. Absentmindedly, he answered: “Only a flesh wound.”

Then, to her surprise, he stepped forward into the smog. For a moment, Rin bounced from foot to foot in anticipation and fear before she felt she had no choice but to follow him.

The explosion had blown a gaping hole in the building, exposing the room to a hazy view of the gardens behind the inn. The once peaceful nighttime air was now fraught with fearful screams and pandemonium. The Inu no Taisho seemed to balance himself on the edge of the destruction and stood, hands akimbo, with his eyes focused on the ruin below. Curious, Rin peered over as well.

In the manmade pond of the promenade gardens behind the hotel, a group of lone corpses floated alongside bits of shrapnel. Bloated and bloodied, their faces were marred with expressions of abject terror, their throats gashed from ear to ear. Some didn’t have faces at all.

Now, Rin was no stranger to dead bodies. She had seen many in the wake of the plague that had struck her home village many years ago. But she had never seen someone so horribly brutalized and tortured. 

Rin slowly backed away from the scene. She would have lost her meal as well if she had not felt an iron grasp on her forearm, wrenching her rearward with enough might that she was sure her arm had been rent from its socket. Gradually, her fear-leaden eyes followed the trail from his hands to his face, over ivory skin and expensive silk. It was the Inu no Taisho’s son, his recognizable locks cascading over one shoulder. His eyes bore all the emotion that his winsome, dispassionate visage would not —— golden eyes that had regarded her with contempt merely hours before now seemed to bore into her already startled psyche with malefic ire.

“Chichi-ue,” his voice was deep and as austere as his expression. He continued to glare at her even as he addressed his father. The Inu no Taisho crouched to observe the corpse of the nobleman that was now floating in the pond. “Lord Kusakabe and his guard, I assume. All dead for hours. Ryukotsusei’s doing, undeniably.”

Rin whimpered as she felt the young warrior’s nails slowly begin to burrow into her flesh. Hearing her distress, his father finally stood to face his likeness, brows furrowed. “Release her, Sesshomaru. She is a bystander, not an accomplice.”

Sesshomaru directed his gaze towards his father. A few more painful seconds floated away in silence before he loosened his grip.

Seizing this opportunity, Rin did what she usually did when things went awry: she ran. Slipping her petite body beneath Sesshomaru’s arm, she darted down the hallway, bumping into frightened servants as they ushered wealthy patrons outside of the ruined building for safety. All of the beautiful pottery and artwork in the entrance hall blurred into one mass as she made her way through the foyer and entrance hall towards the large red doors.

The scene on the streets was no less chaotic. The joyful music and merrymaking had long since ceased. A throng of people had begun to crowd around the hostelry, their perturbed murmurs floating through the air.

From the outside, Rin could see the damage much clearer. The gaping hole in the Inu no Taisho’s room was merely a portion of the damage; the rooms above and below, as well as a little bit of the foyer, were now exposed to the public eye. The explosion in the nobleman’s room was so close to a load-bearing wall that a support beam was now also visible, with some parts of its exterior gone and other parts slowly chipping away. Shrapnel and expensive treasures like fabric and jewelry were now scattered about the streets, but people were too shocked to gather them. Rin was surprised the wooden structure was still standing. Whoever planted the bomb obviously meant for it to be a smothering pile of debris.

She released a shaky breath as she attempted to slip into an alleyway to avoid the crowd.

“Hey,” a smooth voice called from the mouth of the alley. Rin threw a quick glance over her shoulder.

It seemed she had escaped one predator only to end up in the hands of another.

The dark-haired boy who had brought his friend to her earlier that day stood before her with his trademark leer on his face. His clothes were a bit disheveled, and Rin noticed a slight sway in his step as he walked towards her.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” He spoke coolly, his dark eyes probing her figure in a way that sickened her. “What did you spend that money we gave you on? Jewelry? Perfume?”

“Not right now.” Rin shivered and turned away from him. He grabbed her before she could walk any further.

“I see you got caught in that little surprise we set up.” He gazed back at the crowd and the burning building, crushing her small form against his chest. “It was supposed to be grander, but I guess the idiot forgot to set the second one off. Oh well.” The cruel scent of liquor singed her nose as he spoke.

She could hear steady footsteps from around the corner. Fighting, Rin tried to pull away from the boy. He pulled her back roughly by her fingers, causing Rin to yelp in pain.

“Hey!” He yelled, his face twisting into something monstrous. “I am _not_ finished with you. I told you this morning that I would need you later.” He gripped the collar of her yukata in a drunken rage and attempted to tear the fabric from her withered form. “I should have just fucked you this morning when I ——“

Rin could feel the young Lord’s overbearing presence before she even turned to look at him. Standing near the end of the alleyway in the direction that Rin had been heading before the dark-haired boy had stopped her, Sesshomaru gazed at the carnal scene before him with palpable apathy. The moonlight caressed his light hair, casting a circlet of light about his head and bedimming his breathtaking beauteousness.

“Rin.” Her unadorned name rolled off his tongue with authority, and she knew he meant for her to come with him at once. Against her better judgement, she allowed her eyes to stray from his face to the sword latched to his hip.

The dark-haired boy, ignorant of the danger in his inebriated state, merely blinked at the intruder. “No way,” he huffed.

Sesshomaru’s alluring golden gaze flitted from her to her assailant, as if he had just noticed his existence. In response, the dark-haired boy’s grip tightened.

“You’re gonna have to wait.” He spat. “I caught her first, and I don’t like to sha——“ 

His vacuous declaration was interrupted by the fell sound of steel cutting through flesh and bone. An inhuman, blood-curdling gurgle escaped the boy as he staggered backward and onto the hard earth. Blood gushed from the side of his neck and the section where his arm once was. The red plasma stained Rin’s yukata and dripped from the blade of Sesshomaru’s sword, which neither of the commoners had seen him unsheathe. The young Lord gazed at his sword with discontent before alighting on a thoroughly traumatized Rin. 

“Do not even think about running again.” he said coolly, eyes narrowed. He spoke as if the situation was a mere vexation. “Fix your clothes.” 

During the fracas, the fabric of Rin’s yukata had slipped, uncloaking a starveling collarbone and shoulder. In her current fret, she was loth to fix the slip. 

As the light in the dark-haired boy’s eyes slowly faded and his blood began to amass in a pool around the severed arm near her feet, Rin could faintly make out the steady footfalls of the Inu no Taisho. Lord Touga took in the scene with a grimace before looking askance at his son. 

“Whatever happened to inconspicuousness, Sesshomaru?” 

“It blew up.” Sesshomaru said drily.

Prudently stepping around the maimed corse, Touga went to Rin’s side and gently took her elbow. The girl recoiled. 

“I did not mean for you to affright the poor girl.” He reproached. 

Sesshomaru stared at her as if she were the scum of the earth. “This _poor girl_ seems to be an accomplice, after all.” 

Touga glanced and grimaced at the severed arm. “Then this is the boy who planted the bomb.” 

Rin regarded him with wide eyes. Sesshomaru had heard the dark-haired boy’s words and deduced that she was somehow culpable from the building explosion and the attempted assassination of his father. And from the scathefire in his gaze, she knew that if his father had not arrived when he did, Sesshomaru would have dispatched her without hesitancy. 

Her footing escaped her, and she fell to her knees at the great Inu no Taisho’s boots and looked into his eyes. She ignored the blood pool’s viscousness. 

“I had no part in this.” Her voice shook as she spoke. She knew by now that she could not appeal to his son. “I swear on my life.” 

His eyes gleamed with warmth. “You’ll soil your clothes even more. Arise.” With his strong hand still on his elbow, he mercifully helped her on her feet. She did not dare look at Sesshomaru as she stood. 

The Western Lord stood, stretched, and sighed into the hazy night sky. “What a fine mess we have made.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: This chapter could have easily been longer but I decided to cut it off there for the sake of readability and time. According to WordCounter, this chapter is 4,274 words and takes 15 minutes 32 seconds to read. 
> 
> Another reason that it took a little over a month to update this (besides the length, of course) is Sesshomaru. I felt nervous about my portrayal of him; I really wanted to do him justice. If you guys could leave feedback on how I did, I would appreciate it!
> 
> Also, how do you all feel about Touga? I imagine him to be an amalgam of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha but with him own charismatic, extroverted flair. So far, I truly enjoy portraying him. 
> 
> Even though I’m a notoriously slow writer, I want to tell you guys that I have a lot planned for this story. I sat down the other day and made a list of all the Inuyasha characters that I would include in this fic and what their roles will be. I also have a general idea of how this story will end, lmao. I'm thinking about making a playlist of the songs I listen to while writing.
> 
> Anyways, remember to leave a comment! I enjoy reading your reactions! I’ll try to update soon!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Gosh, I don't know how this chapter ended up being 3000+ words! The draft for the first half of this has been collecting dust in iCloud for almost a year. I don't know if I'm going to be able to update this regularly, but I'll try! I already have an outline for the second chapter, so it should take too long.
> 
> I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the title Song of the West, so if it changes between now and the next update, don't be surprised.
> 
> I was a bit nervous to post this since I haven't written in such a long time. Be sure to let me know how you liked this chapter/the story concepts/the characterizations so far! I'm willing to accept any constructive criticism :)


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